The Rules
by Casyn
Summary: Before Sonja can join the New Orleans team, there are a few rules she needs to know first. Short one-shot.
A/N: Do not own. _I just play with the characters folks. Otherwise, I wouldn't have so much student loan debt. This is a snapshot from the end of season one. It doesn't really have spoilers in it. I see Pride as a fatherly figure and probably all of my stories for this fandom will include discipline of some form or another. As well as heart to hearts. That's just how I roll.
-x-_

She hadn't mean to get caught, although logically she should have realized she would be. With tensions as high as they were and with Pride suspecting an insider, she should have know Double P would find her intrusion and inform Pride about it. The way he was looking at her made her squirm. Sonja was sure that this would be when he would tell her to get out, that she couldn't be one of them.

Dwayne gave a soft sigh, observing the young woman's body language for a moment. While he had been surprised when he was informed that Sonja was snooping around, the longer he thought about it, the less surprising it was. She needed stability and family, being undercover didn't allow her that. She was used to fending for herself, it probably hadn't even occurred to the young woman to just ask. "Do you want to tell me what you were looking for?" Her answer would determine her own future.

Sonja blinked, staring at him for a second before schooling her facial expressions back to neutral. Surely Patton told him exactly which files she had hacked into. But if he hadn't..she could easily lie, make up a story about the case. That's not what she wanted though and she had a feeling that Pride did know. That he was testing her. It wasn't a test she wanted to fail. "I was just...looking to see if you had enough funds for one more agent." She answered finally, eyes focused firmly on the floor.

"We do. All you had to do was ask, Sonja. Sneaking around each other is not something we do here. I know you are not used to working with a team but no one runs solo here. We are a team, a family. Are you sure you want to do this?" He inquired quietly, picking up the sheet of paper he had located earlier. Dwayne was well aware that Sonja had rarely worked as a member of a team and he knew it would be hard for her, if she still wanted to join his team. But the woman was also determined and he knew she needed the family he was offering. He just wasn't quite sure if she would agree to his rules, even if he thought she could benefit from his family rules. Christopher had, after all.

"I'm sure." She answered without hesitation. Sonja wanted this, she wanted to be part of this team. It wasn't something she had to think about.

He gave her a slight smile, holding out the piece of paper. "These are the family rules. Read it, sign it. If you have questions, ask." Dwayne watched her body language as Sonja glanced at the paper, looked up at him with wide eyes and then back to the paper. After one very difficult case with Christopher, back when he had first started working with the young man, he had finally put his family rules into writing, to clear up any misunderstandings. He understood her shock, however. Most bosses didn't give their young agents a list of rules and consequences. But their job was dangerous and he ran his unit as a family, he wasn't about to lose a young agent over stupidity. Not if he could help it.

She wasn't sure how she felt about this. She understood rules, all agencies had rules but none that she had worked for had rules quite like this. And while some of them were simple, commonsense rules, like not taking unnecessary risks, others would be hard. For her at least. She was used to hiding information about herself and injuries, used to keeping her cover at all costs. Could she really be honest with Pride? Could she keep herself out of danger and talk when things got tough? Sonja wasn't used to talking, wasn't used to being open with anybody. Could she really take the consequences for breaking his rules? Extra work, chores, and...spankings? "What would earn these consequences?" She asked finally, flushing slightly. Neither Merri or Chris had said one word about consequences to her. They weren't children, they were full grown agents. Right?

"You mean, what would cause me to tan your hide? Placing yourself in unnecessary danger, taking risks that were not needed, disobeying a direct order, and lying about any of the three. So say, taking your vest off and making yourself a target for an armed gunman would earn you a whippin'." Dwayne explained quietly. He knew it was a lot to take in, to consider, but he had a feeling that the young woman would sign it anyway, despite whatever misgivings she had. He also had a feeling that just like Chris, Sonja would test him. Hopefully not by making a target of herself. There were necessary, calculated risks where his agents might not always be safe but they took precautions and then there were unnecessary, bone-headed risks that the more stubborn agents decided to place themselves into.

She blinked, mouth agape for a moment. That actually sounded like something LaSalle would do, as the resigned tone Pride used told her that it had happened before, at least once. "So if I sign this..?" She inquired slowly, tilting her head in question. Would he hold what she had done in the past against her? Even her current actions? 

"You'd be part of the family and accountable to me. Everyone starts with a clean slate, Sonja." He responded softly, meeting hesitant eyes until she looked away. "It's not easy, going from undercover to working as part of a team. It's going to take a lot of hard work but I believe in you."

She hesitated for a brief moment longer before picking up a pen and signing her name on the bottom of the page. "When do I start?"

Dwayne smiled at the newest member to his team, his family, and beckoned for her to follow him. "Now."


End file.
